View full sizeThe Christie administration today named Elie Honig, 37, of Metuchen, as the next director of the state Division of Criminal Justice. He will oversee all state criminal prosecutions.Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger

TRENTON — The Christie administration today named Elie Honig as the next director of the state Division of Criminal Justice, succeeding Stephen Taylor, who has been confirmed as a Superior Court judge.

"I have great respect for his intellect, judgment and leadership," Gov. Chris Christie said in a statement. "Those attributes combined with his broad-based experience as a prosecutor make him an exceptional choice to lead the Division of Criminal Justice."

Honig, 37, of Metuchen, has been the deputy director of the division since September serving under Taylor, who has been the director since he was selected for the post by Christie in 2010. The director oversees all criminal cases prosecuted by the state.

"Elie has had an important supervisory role in the Division for the past six months as a deputy director, so this will be a seamless transition," Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said in a statement.

Before to joining the division, Honig worked for eight years as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, most recently leading several major organized crime cases against the Genovese and Gambino mafia families in New York City.

He has also led cases of public corruption, violent crime and human trafficking, an area of particular focus for Chiesa. Prior to becoming an assistant U.S. attorney, Honig worked as an associate at Covington & Burling in Washington.

Honig, who has a wife and two children, earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 2000 and his undergraduate degree from Rutgers in 1997. He begins his job as director today; Taylor's last day is Friday, the Attorney General's Office said.